A year and a half ago, NBC thought they had locked up their top analyst for years to come when they inked Drew Brees to a contract immediately after retiring from the New Orleans Saints.
Brees, they hoped, would be their Tony Romo or Troy Aikman, a household name who could bring unique insight into the game having been one of the all-time great quarterbacks. However, after a year with the network, the two sides are reportedly parting ways, even if Brees insists he hasn’t made a decision on his future one way or the other. Brees’ time in the booth calling games was not encouraging, but he apparently doesn’t want to be a studio analyst instead. As such, NBC will move forward with Cris Collinsworth calling Sunday Night Football alongside Mike Tirico.
As for who could replace Brees on their pregame show and also in the Notre Dame football booth, where Brees called games alongside Tirico last year, a rather surprising name has emerged, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
NBC is eyeing Jason Garrett, the former Cowboys head coach and Giants offensive coordinator, to replace Drew Brees as the game analyst on Notre Dame football and possibly on its prime time NFL pregame studio show, “Football Night in America,” The Post has learned.
Going with a former Cowboy is a tried and true method for NFL coverage, but Garrett is a fascinating choice considering he’s not exactly a beloved figure…anywhere. His tenure in Dallas dragged on longer than Cowboys fans wanted without ever reaching the heights they hoped, ultimately ending with a few consecutive years of fans calling for him to get fired. His time on the sidelines as the offensive coordinator with the Giants wasn’t fruitful either, so, there’s not a lot of positive public perception of Garrett from NFL fans.
Add in that Garrett never seemed to be a particularly big personality and his fit as an engaging TV analyst is questionable, but he is already doing USFL games for the network and if the reviews there are positive internally, that might be enough. Of note in Marchand’s piece is that they’re considering keeping Garrett’s USFL pairing with Jac Collinsworth as the Notre Dame booth this fall, which would certainly not have been the expected move — or a particularly popular one with fans of the Irish.